US Diplomat murdered in Jordan

A good friend of mine was the Director of the Peace Corps in Jordan until a year or two ago, after opening the program in 97/98. I'm sure the ex-pat crowd in Ammann was fairly close knit, with USAid, PC, embassy, and other NGO-folk all interacting often; I would guess many are worried at this development, even while most would probably see this as an isolated incident.

This situation will be worth monitoring. During the Gulf War, the US evacuated their PC volunteers from Morocco, and it took a while for the program to redevelop trust from the host country when they returned. I wonder if/when Morocco and Jordan will be evacuated this time around.

 

My friend's parents went to Jordan about a week after 9/11. I didn't think it was the brightest idea in the world, luckily they got back OK.


Alex

 

I had a friend who went on his honeymoney three weeks after 9/11. He said that the Egyptians mostley just kissed their butts. Tourism was down about 75%.

 

Thanks...yeah, they're college professors so you know the type, I tried to get my friend to talk them out of it but they wouldn't listen to her. Scary thing is, Jordan's supposed to be one of the safest places in the Middle East for Americans.


Alex

 

Alex, you blow me away sometimes. Each time I think you've reach the apex of idiocy, you come back with another.

A USAid worker is killed in Jordan and all of a sudden that proves that the country 1) is not safe for Americans, and 2) must then not have been safe for over a year.

Now let's get this straight. You, an 18 year old kid, tried to convince two Ph.Ds that they were "stupid" for travelling to Jordan post 9/11, even though no violence had occurred in Jordan in recent memory. Did you know at the time that there were thousands of Americans already living there, including dozens of young Peace Corps volunteers working projects from Maternal Child Healthcare to English Education? Did you know that the Queen Mother is American born? Or that thousands of Europeans and Americans travel there daily doing business? No, as an 18 year old reactionary who's probably never left his own country, you could firmly say "they were stupid. You know the type."

When they came back safe and sound, like all the other thousands of Westerners travelling in and out of Jordan for the last year, they were somehow "lucky?" No, moron, they were simply part of the 100% population of safe Western travellers in a very moderate country. In any case, instead of admitting to anyone, "Hey, I guess I was wrong about their trip...oops," you kept your mouth shut biding your time.

Now, a year later, one murder "proves" your point??? How long would you have waited? If it had taken two more years, would you still have been right, and the two professors wrong?

 

Way to put words in my mouth. What I said was that I didn't think going anywhere in the Middle East (aside from Israel) immediately after 9/11 was a great idea, unless of course you're armed. And yes, I knew all that stuff--doesn't mean I think it's a good idea. And I still think Jordan is probably the safest Arab country for Westerners to travel in right now, but that doesn't mean it's very safe. Bottom line, I wouldn't go anywhere in the Middle East, with the exceptions of Israel, Turkey, and possibly Iran, as a private citizen (going there as part of the US Navy is a different story altogether).

As for your crack about my "probably never having been out of my own country", I'll just say you're wrong...I won't list the countries I've been to because I don't have to prove anything to you, I will just tell you that you are very wrong.


Alex

 

Yeah, but if you're really worried about personal safety, rather than concerned with any ideological issues, shouldn't Israel be pretty close to the last place in the Middle East you would go?

 

The difference is, in Israel there are precautions you can take to protect yourself. In the Arab countries, you have to worry about sitting in the back seat of a taxi and some nutjob runs up at a stoplight and puts two in your head.


Alex

 

As opposed to Tel Aviv where you actually see the suicide bomber open his jacket before he detonates the bomb.

 

How many times has this happened in Arab countries recently? Do you have any examples, or are you just talking out of your ass?

For what it's worth, Israel is on the US State Department's Travel Warning list. Jordan is not.

"The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Ongoing violence has caused numerous civilian deaths and injuries, including to some American tourists, students and residents. The potential for further terrorist acts remains high. The situation in Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank remains extremely volatile with continuing terrorist attacks, confrontations and clashes."


Again, I don't want to get into any ideological questions of who's right and wrong politically or whatever, merely the question of where it's safe(r) to travel.